Top GOP Donor Still Supports Christie: Jeb Bush Has 'A Lot Of Baggage'

Home Depot co-founder and prominent Republican donor Ken Langone is standing by his choice for the White House in 2016, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), despite the recent buzz surrounding former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R).

"Jeb would be a superb president, but I think Christie would connect better — we desperately need a president to connect to the people," Langone told Buzzfeed in an interview published Friday night.

Langone, who was recently under fire for comparing populist politics to Nazi Germany, said that the Bridge Scandal is just a "rough patch" for Christie. He added that if Christie ran for president, he would like need a staff upgrade.

"I told this to the governor and he took it respectfully — I respect loyalty, but if you’re moving onto a stage that’s far more intense and far more profound, you don’t have the luxury of having anything but the very best minds around you," Langone said.

Though the bridge scandal is just a bump in the road for the embattled New Jersey governor, Langone said that Bush has much more working against him.

"And you gotta take into account the Bush name. His mother said it: ‘We’ve had enough Bushes' for a while,'" he said. "His brother did not leave with the highest level of popularity, and that comes with a burden. I can imagine Hillary running against Jeb, what a field day the media guys would have:'‘Ready for another Bush? Ready for another Afghanistan? Ready for another Iraq? Ready for another collapse of the banking system?' That’s a lot of baggage."